Echoes of the Heartbroken
by Mononoke-hime x sukai kurora
Summary: Who was the one who taught Aragorn The Song of Lúthien?


The ownership of this song belongs to J. R. R. Tolkien and _The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring._

* * *

 _Echoes of the Heartbroken_

 _"_ _Tinúviel elvanui_

 _Elleth alririn edhelhael_

 _O ho ring finnil fuinui_

 _A renc gelebrin thiliol…"_

"What song was that?" There was a sound of movement behind him, and the clear sound of the Common Tongue echoed through the warm summer breeze.

Legolas had never thought that he would ever truly see the world beyond his father's kingdom. His heart echoed quietly in his mind, the calm façade unbroken despite of the long pause in between the golden-haired elf's response. He turned and looked toward the young Aragorn. He could see the curiosity burning in his blue eyes. The young human's dark hair framed his face, and for a moment, a stream of pain entered Legolas' heart at the haunting image.

"I had never heard of it before."

Despite of the years passing, it seemed to Legolas that his mind would be haunted by his arrogance and mistakes. He could still see himself now, the lord that the young elf had shed, proud and not yet wise enough to understand that what his heart yearned for belonged to another. Legolas was no longer angry. If he had anyone to blame for his misguided love for Tauriel, it was himself. Kili was dead.

As was Tauriel.

 _"The Song of L_ _ú_ _thien._ The song speaks of a love an elf maiden had for a mortal," Legolas stated calmly as his heart continued to break. Unbidden, a raw emotion rose inside of him at the memory of holding Tauriel's body in his arms. It had been shortly after the war, when Legolas was still trying to understand his heart and the love that betrayed him. Elves were sensitive creatures. With every moment of death there was a danger of heartbreak. Legolas had been helpless as he watched Tauriel fade away. He had been with her during those hours, including her last.

"It is said only Lord Elrond remembers the poem now." If he was trying to distract the young man from asking the question that Legolas didn't want to answer, the human ignored the attempt of conversing about his foster father. Legolas had seen with his own two eyes of how close those two were. A bubble of regret borrowed in his mind.

"What happened to her?"

The young voice echoed in the elf's mind, allowing him to speak despite the heaviness of his heart.

"She died."

Legolas didn't understand of how he could still be living after Tauriel's death. He didn't understand of how this heartbreak could shatter his entire existence. The broken nightmare that the elf was experiencing wouldn't go away no matter how much he wished. _"If there is no place for Tauriel, there is no place for me."_ What did his existence mean without Tauriel? Loneliness. Despair. Legolas remembered the bleak days before Tauriel. The elfing he had been had been desperately starved of love, wondering if his father hated him. Only when he was summoned did the golden-haired elfing meet his imposing and cold father. There was no mention of his mother. Legolas didn't remember her. Eventually, he was convinced that she had not loved him. Why else would she abandon her son and die fighting an ancient enemy? Training and studies dominated his life even then. But Legolas did not reach what he had sought.

The only balm in his existence was Tauriel.

 _She was taken from me…the one person who I would have died for._

Legolas did not die. Tauriel, with her beautiful fire as red and stunning as her hair, would not allow him to die. And so the young elf decided to become what Tauriel believed in. Someone loving enough to fall in love with a dwarf.

"I pray that you never have the heartbreak to sing this, young Aragorn." Legolas closed his eyes and attempted to still the pain, his mind clouding with memories of Tauriel.

"You're…" The young teen, oblivious to of how Legolas turned his back towards him, could still see the faint shaking in the elf's form. "You're crying," the dark-haired Aragorn, who reminded Legolas so very keenly of Kili, whispered.

Legolas could feel the salty liquid caress his cheeks. He didn't attempt to wipe them away as the memories of Tauriel and at holding her in his arms echoed.

"I am," Legolas stated clearly.

 _"If this is love, then I do not want it! Why does it hurt so much?"_

 _"Because it was real."_


End file.
